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还手 (huán shǒu) — to hit back, to retaliate physically

Definition

还手 means 'to hit back, to strike back' (physically retaliate). As a separable verb, 还得上手 / 还了一次手 uses the measure 次 between the halves.

verb
to hit backto retaliate physically

Examples

  • ，还手。
    Tā bèi rén dǎ le, dàn méi yǒu huán shǒu.
    He was hit by someone, but he didn't hit back.
  • ，。
    Duì fāng xiān dòng shǒu, tā cái hái le yí cì shǒu.
    The other side struck first, and only then did he hit back once.
  • 还手，。
    Tā qì dé xiǎng huán shǒu, dàn rěn zhù le.
    He was so angry he wanted to hit back, but he held himself back.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

还háireturn
手shǒuhand

还 means return and 手 means hand; together they describe returning a hand, i.e. hitting back.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 還; 还 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng還hái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 還 pairs 辵 (walk) with 睘 as a sound part for 'go back; return'; the simplified 还 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 还 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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